If you’re looking for a way to quickly pass time, I recommend outdoor climbing. Literally 4 feet above ground, I’m a sweaty, awkward mess perched on a tiny piece of rock sticking out that maybe an ant could call a ledge. My knuckles are white and I’ve lost all feeling at my finger tips as I grip the rock with every ounce of energy left in me. As I struggle with gravity, I look down and see my poor friends waiting for what seemed like five minutes, but ended up being about half an hour as I attempted to ascend the rock face.
This makes me incredibly grateful for the people I climb with. Climbing is a sport that is intimidating, dangerous, and uncomfortable. You’re often in a vulnerable state and constantly having a war in your mind. You’ve got it. And then: nope, that’s not a foothold. Personally, I know that most of the time I can do it. It’s the vision of me reaching up for the next hold, and then my feet slipping and falling that stops me. Obviously that won’t get me anywhere, and especially not up. Furthermore, when I connect this to lead climbing, an even bigger fear kicks in. I’ve only ever top roped outdoors, and lead climbing is significantly more complex and challenging to the body and mind. When you do fall, it’s much more dramatic and longer as you’re swinging down to the last quickdraw (carabiner) that you’re clipped into, unlike top rope where your fall lasts as long as it takes for the rope to tense up (because it goes through a top anchor at the top of the rock). Falling when lead climbing can also involve crashing into the rock and/or belayer depending on the angle or the rock and how high you are from the ground. There’s so many parts and pieces to lead climbing, whether indoors or outdoors, that must function together to successfully be able to climb up a rock face. Your life is in the hands of the belayer, and there is so much trust that has to be built in order for both the climber and the belayer to feel safe. There is also the performance of gear; if something goes faulty, even as small as one carabiner, it puts the climber and the belayer’s life at risk.
I am excited for the day Steph and I take our lead climbing course. We will learn how to properly fall, which may seem ironic, but is extremely important in terms of safety. Lead climbing isn’t just dangerous for the climber, but just as much for the belayer. It is important for both parties to feel comfortable and confident in their abilities, and I am super stoked to get to that stage.
Luckily, climbing is a very personal sport. You can make it as hard or as easy as you want. You can make it competitive or keep it casual. Ultimately, it’s a pretty safe sport as long as responsible decisions are made, and precautions are taken. It’s incredibly fun, you make good friends, and get a real thrill when you successfully reach the top of the climb.
Now that I’ve hyped it up, here’s a video of someone who falls while lead climbing. Trust me, this is one of the better ones. Here is the link to the video:
enorell
October 6, 2022 — 4:43 pm
Hi Anju!
Wow! That was amazing that you did that. So crazy! I have a fear of heights and I feel like I would completely freak out, even on a really small rock face. Seeing you try and explore new skills and activities is amazing. It’s so cool that it’s so personal, with the fact that you can make it easy or hard for yourself, like you said. I can’t wait to see the rest of your rock climbing journey.
xoxo
aotsu
October 18, 2022 — 5:08 pm
Hey Emily!
Fear of heights, I totally get it. I’m still not comfortable being super high up. But something that makes it worthwhile is the thrilling feeling I get when I get to the top. It’s definitely a strange thing, to go against every ounce of my fear of falling and just keep climbing up, but again, its that feeling once you make it to the top that makes me love this sport 🙂
hannaguiney
October 9, 2022 — 11:52 am
Hey Anju,
I must say this is an incredible hobby to be doing on the regular! I have only rock climbed outdoors once, it was through an outdoor adventure summer camp when I was in high school. I remember feeling so scared and nervous being on the side of the (small) cliff, worried that if I slipped the rope may not save me. I have not tried it again since, but I will never forget the feeling of a great achievement when I made it to the top! It is definitely a sport that you must have confidence in yourself, and as you said the belayer, as there is little room for mistakes. I applaud you for investing yourself in this challenge and you will only grow braver and stronger every day! I look forward to seeing your progress on your journey of climbing.
aotsu
October 18, 2022 — 5:14 pm
Hi Hanna!
Thats so cool that you got to try it through a summer camp! I definitely wish that I was introduced to it at a younger age – I would’ve loved to have something like this to obsess over while in quarantine or like events. Confidence is definitely key, and just practicing over and over again. Climbing is definitely both a mental and physical challenge, and once you achieve a route, it feels so good!
annamcclintock
October 9, 2022 — 3:28 pm
Hi Anju!
Like Emily, I have a major fear of heights. I am okay when I’m on secured heights like in an airplane or going over a bridge but an activity where I’m not secured and could plummet is NOT my favourite thing in the world. My heart would have dropped to my stomach if I fell the way you did on a lead.
I am big-time jealous of your ability to conquer new things. I am very excited to see how your inquiry turns out!!
Go you!
annamcclintock
October 9, 2022 — 3:30 pm
Correction note: That was meant to say “My heart would have dropped to my stomach if I fell the way they did on a lead.” Haha if it were you falling my heart would’ve actually dropped!!
aotsu
October 18, 2022 — 5:18 pm
Hey Anna!
Completely understandable, and I’m definitely still scared of falling! That lead video scares me so much and makes me question what I’m getting myself into… but alas, here we are. I’m quite grateful that this inquiry project is pushing me to do this because it’s something that I’ve been wanting to and meaning to do, but my scared self has kept pushing away. And yes, that is definitely not me in the video haha!